A theme in a literary context is a repetitive idea, expressed throughout the literary work. Theme is the author’s opinion on a subject and its purpose is to convey a message.
The theme in “The Boarding House” is a desire to escape. Mr. Doran and Polly Mooney are forced into marrying each other. They both want to escape the situation they are in but both have an epiphany and realize that, in life, one doesn’t always get what one wants. Both want to escape the consequences of their affair but are unable to undertake the process.
Another theme present in "The Boarding House", which is closely related to the desire to escape, it the imprisonment of the powerless. Mr. Doran is seen as the powerless as he is manipulated into marrying Polly and has no say in the decision. Polly is also powerless as she leaves the fate of her future to her mother, to handle.
The central theme of Dubliners is that life is not so glorious. This can be seen as the characters come to a realization due to the effects of outside forces and their own personal struggle. Each character in Dubliners demonstrates conflict in their intentions and actions. The individual moral dilemmas they undergo will force them to have an epiphany and realize that life is not so glorious.
The effect of these themes on the reader is that it evokes sympathy from the reader because in most of James Joyce’s stories the characters come to an epiphany that life will not always go the way they want it to. The reader especially feels sympathy for Mr. Doran as he was manipulated into marrying Polly by Mrs. Mooney. Joyce draws in the reader by having a universal theme so that everyone can empathize and relate with the characters. In “The Boarding House” people understand that what it’s like to be forced to do something they don’t want to do.
A theme in a literary context is a repetitive idea, expressed throughout the literary work. Theme is the author’s opinion on a subject and its purpose is to convey a message.
The theme in “The Boarding House” is a desire to escape. Mr. Doran and Polly Mooney are forced into marrying each other. They both want to escape the situation they are in but both have an epiphany and realize that, in life, one doesn’t always get what one wants. Both want to escape the consequences of their affair but are unable to undertake the process.
Another theme present in "The Boarding House", which is closely related to the desire to escape, it the imprisonment of the powerless. Mr. Doran is seen as the powerless as he is manipulated into marrying Polly and has no say in the decision. Polly is also powerless as she leaves the fate of her future to her mother, to handle.
The central theme of Dubliners is that life is not so glorious. This can be seen as the characters come to a realization due to the effects of outside forces and their own personal struggle. Each character in Dubliners demonstrates conflict in their intentions and actions. The individual moral dilemmas they undergo will force them to have an epiphany and realize that life is not so glorious.
The effect of these themes on the reader is that it evokes sympathy from the reader because in most of James Joyce’s stories the characters come to an epiphany that life will not always go the way they want it to. The reader especially feels sympathy for Mr. Doran as he was manipulated into marrying Polly by Mrs. Mooney. Joyce draws in the reader by having a universal theme so that everyone can empathize and relate with the characters. In “The Boarding House” people understand that what it’s like to be forced to do something they don’t want to do.
For further information about the themes represented in Dubliners, click on the links below:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-93,pageNum-55.html
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dubliners/themes.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/dubliners/themes.html